Professor Kevin Featherstone

Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor of European Politics. He is currently the Head of the European Institute and was long-term Director of the Hellenic Observatory and Co-Chair of LSEE: Research on South-East Europe within the European Institute. He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota; New York University; and Harvard University. Before LSE, he held academic posts at the universities of Stirling and Bradford. In 2009-10 he served on an advisory committee to Prime Minister George Papandreou for the reform of the Greek government. He was the first foreign member of the National Council for Research and Technology (ESET) in Greece, serving from 2010-2013. He is Vice-Chair of the Academic Council of 'Atomium Culture', Brussels, a not-for-profit promoting collaboration within the European Research Area. In 2013 he was made ‘Commander: Order of the Phoenix’ by the President of the Hellenic Republic. In 2014, the European Parliament selected one of his books (co-authored with Kenneth Dyson) as one of its ‘100 Books on Europe to Remember’. He has contributed regularly to ‘Kathimerini’.

Recent publication by Prof Featherstone

Research interests

His research has focussed on the politics of the European Union and the politics of contemporary Greece; his work has been framed in the perspectives of comparative politics, public policy, political economy and processes of 'Europeanization'. His main books on the EU have involved a comparison of socialist parties' approaches to European integration; relations between the US and EU; the negotiations leading to the Maastricht agreement on EMU; and, the politics of 'Europeanisation'. On Greece, he has co-authored or edited books on political change after 1974; Greece after the Cold War; Greece and the challenges of 'Europeanisation'; the limits of Europeanisation in Greece; a history of the Muslim/Turkish minority in Western Thrace; and most recently, the domestic meanings of 'Europe' in Greece. His new book, with Dimitris Papadimitriou, on the problems of control and coordination within the Greek core executive will be published by Oxford University Press in 2015.

The Greek PM, G. Papandreou, in a speech in Parliament on 18 October 2011 quoted the comments of Kevin Featherstone on the crisis. Featherstone had argued that in the interests of serious domestic reform the Troika needed to give Greece more time to plan and implement changes (video starting at 44:00).

Professor Kevin Featherstone member of the Greek national research council (ESET)

In September 2010, Professor Featherstone was appointed to the National Council for Research and Technology in Greece (ESET). Following a change in law, he is the first non-Greek to be appointed to the Council. Here is a selection of relevant press material: KathimeriniTo VimaTa Nea.

Professor Kevin Featherstone appointed as member of advisory committee to Greek Prime Minister

In February 2010, Professor Featherstone was appointed by the Greek Prime Minister to a newly-created committee ('Advisory Committee for the Modernisation of the Operation of the Government'). The committee is composed of five international members and is charged with producing a report on various administrative reforms. Relevant press material: EthnosEleytherotypiaProtoThema (p.26)

Recent Presentations

2016

Professor Kevin Featherstone took part in a documentary series titled 'Ειδικές Αποστολές'. The documentary episode was called 'H Βρετανία στη σκιά του Brexit', or ‘’Britain in the shadow of Brexit’’, ERT TV, Greece (18 October 2016)

Professor Kevin Featherstone spoke at the annual conference "Delphi Economic Forum" which took place at the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, Greece between the 25th and the 28th of February 2016.

A feature article on Professor Kevin Featherstone's and Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou's presention of their latest book 'Prime Ministers and the Paradox of Power in Greece' as part of the Megaron Lecture Series was published in the European Court of Auditors (ECA) Journal. The edition also features an interview with both Professors, titled 'How far can Europe intervene into national administrative processes?' (March 2016)

2015

As part of the Megaron PlusLecture Series 2014-15, Professor Kevin Featherstone and Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou presented their latest book 'Prime Ministers and the Paradox of Power in Greece' in a lecture with the same title. The event took place in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall (Αίθουσα Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος), Megaron, Athens, Greece and you can find more details here.
Professor Kevin Featherstone took part in the 12th European Seminar in Delphi, organised by ELIAMEP on Saturday 12 September. The panel's title was 'The Greek Saga: What went Wrong?'.

Professor Kevin Featherstone took part in a breakfast panel discussion with Professor Henrik Enderlein in the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, titled ‘Is Reform in Greece Possible?’ (30/4/2015)

The Megaron Plus and the London School of Economics and Political Science in collaboration with the Hellenic Alumni Association of the London School of Economics and the Hellenic Observatory presented a series of public lectures on the theme of: ‘New Ideas for a World in Change’ in 2014-15. The first lecture on the topic of 'Social Movements, Social Change, and Democracy' took place on Wednesday, 10 December 2014. Professor Craig Calhoun, President and Director of LSE was the guest speaker at the event, which was chaired by Professor Kevin Featherstone. Read here an article on the lectures, published by Kerkyra Publications - Economia Group (in Greek).

2014

Professor Kevin Featherstone gave a public lecture at the University of Thessaly, Volos campus, on 31 March 2014. The lecture was entitled, ‘Greece in the New Europe: Challenges and Prospects’. In his visit, Professor Featherstone also met the Mayor of Volos, Panos Skotiniots and the Bishop of Dimitriados , Ignatios. Professor Featherstone’s visit was hosted by the University and by Lina and Ross Gkaragkani Robertson.

Professor Kevin Featherstone gave a talk at a private lunch organised by the Hellenic Entrepreneurs’ Association (Ελληνική Ένωση Επιχειρηματιών, E.EN.E) on Monday 31st January 2011. The talk, held at the Athens Club, addressed the constraints on Greece’s economic development and ways forward in terms of reform. More information on E.EN.E can be found here.

2010

At the invitation of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Alumni Association, LSE, Professor Kevin Featherstone gave a lecture at the British Embassy in Athens on the 11th Nov. 2010 entitled "The Naked Emperor? Greek prime ministers and the problem of reform capacity". Respondents were Prof Antonis Makridimitris (University of Athens) and Mr Alexis Papahelas (Journalist and Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini Newspaper). (Prof. Featherstone's transcript & Prof. Makridimitris transcript).

The Limits of Europeanisation: Greece and the Euro-Zone, Fifth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics, European Consortium for Political Research, Standing Group on the European Union, University Fernando Pessoa and Faculty of Economics of Porto University, Porto, Portugal, 23-26 June 2010.

Professor Featherstone chaired the launch of a report on the future of research in Europe up to 2020. The report was presented by Atomium Culture and it addressed the question of the role that civil society institutions might play in fostering a more effective environment for research and innovation. Atomium Culture is itself an independent, non-profit institution and the LSE is a partner (as is the University of Athens and some 23 other universities) in its pan-European network of universities, businesses and media organisations that have come together to promote better opportunities for young researchers across all scientific disciplines. At the launch, held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 18th 2010, Professor Featherstone introduced key note addresses by former French President, Valery Giscard d'Estaing (Honorary President of Atomium Culture); Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament; EU Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, responsible for research, innovation and science; and he chaired a panel debate with seven representatives of European institutions, universities, business, and media. The report was warmly welcomed by the speakers and Atomium Culture plan further steps to promote its platform over the next year, including a presentation to the European Council.

Selected by the European Parliament for the “100 books on Europe to remember” list in 2014. The list covers all languages and all disciplines since the first part of the C20th to the present-day. It recommends these books and makes them available to contemporary audiences via the internet. You can access the list here.

Religious Pluralism and Education in GreeceBy Effie Fokas and Margarita Markoviti In 2005, in Folgero v. Norway, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) set precedence highly relevant to the Greek context of religious education (RE): ‘it does not appear that the respondent State [Norway] … Continue reading →

Click here for all press articles and interviews given by Professor Kevin Featherstone and HO Staff.

Professor Kevin Featherstonewas interviewed on the Eurozone, the dilemma that Great Britain is facing with the Brexit referendum, Greece and Cyprus for Politis (Citizen) Daily Cypriot Newspaper (13 June 2016)

Professor Kevin Featherstone wrote an Op-Ed 'It's all Greek to me' for the Greek press, arguing that the current British referendum campaign on EU membership displays a similar populism to that of the Greek referendum last July and has a similar demographic of support, Kathimerini (12 June 2016)

Use of this website is subject to, and implies acceptance of, its Terms of use (including Copyright and intellectual property, Privacy and data protection and Accessibility). The London School of Economics and Political Science is a School of the University of London. It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts (Reg no. 70527).The registered office address of the School is: The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK; Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 7686